JC2 SSCR3431

 

STAND. COM. REP. NO.3431

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: JUD. COM. NO. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred Judiciary Communication No. 2, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

HILARY B. GANGNES, to the District Court of the First Circuit;

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nominee from the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA), Administrative Judge of the District Court of the First Circuit, Office of the Public Defender, and four individuals.

The HSBA subjected the nominee to rigorous review and evaluation before rating the nominee as "highly qualified" for the position. That rating is the highest endorsement given by the HSBA for judicial appointment recommendations. The review includes a thorough evaluation of the nominee based on a modified version of the American Bar Association Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for Judicial Office. The guideline's criteria include: integrity, legal knowledge and ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, diligence, financial responsibility, public service, collegiality, and writing ability.

The nominee is currently a partner in the law firm of Bronster Crabtree & Hoshibata. She has been a per diem judge for the district court of the first circuit since 1997. In that capacity, she has adjudicated the same types of cases as a full time district court judge. Your Committee notes that the nominee was a law clerk in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Civil Division, and a law clerk to Chief Justice Ronald Moon of the Hawaii Supreme Court in 1990 to 1991. She was an editor of the Law Review at the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now known as Seattle University School of Law). She has received numerous professional honors and awards, including being named the Consumer Lawyer of the Year, 1997, by the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii. She has been published in the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii Law Reporter and in the Maritime Law Journal and Maritime Law Reporter, and she has been a panelist in numerous Hawaii law seminars. Your Committee notes her extensive involvement in community organizations and volunteer activities.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, character, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

		____________________________ BRIAN KANNO, Chair